This invention relates to a water cooling means for an engine and more particularly to an improved thermostat arrangement and cooling layout for an internal combustion engine.
As is well known, with liquid cooled internal combustion engines, it is the normal practice to provide a thermostat within the cooling system for maintaining a uniform temperature and for insuring quick warm-up. The thermostat includes a thermostatically operated valve element that causes the coolant to be recirculated through the engine cooling jacket without flowing through the associated radiator when the engine is cold. As the temperature of the engine increases, the thermostatic valve progressively opens and increasing amounts of coolant are circulated through the radiator before they are returned to the engine cooling jacket for recirculation.
It has been found that a particular problem results from such arrangements. Specifically, the water that enters the thermostat housing has pulsations in it and if the thermostatic valve is partially opened, these pulsations are transmitted through the thermostat housing back into the engine cooling system. Not only does this cause uneven coolant flow but it also can cause vibrations to occur in the thermostat housing, connecting pipes and the radiator. Obviously, these vibrations can adversely affect the durability of all of the components of the engine associated with the cooling jacket and particularly the radiator, piping and clamps not to mention the thermostat itself.
In a V type engine, the two banks of the engines normally have their own separate cooling jackets which operate independent but which return the coolant to the radiator through the same thermostat housing. With such types of engines, the problems described in the preceding paragraph may be even more prevalent.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved cooling system for an internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved cooling system for an internal combustion engine in which vibrations in the cooling system and specifically in the thermostat housing are avoided.
It has been the practice to mount both the thermostat and the water pump at the same end of the engine. This facilitates the driving of the water pump without necessitating external shafting and also can provide a relatively compact nature for the engine. However, the water inlet from the radiator back to the engine normally extends into the water pump housing and the water return back to the radiator normally extends from the thermostat housing. This means that the engine water inlets and outlets are positioned in close proximity to each other. Although in some applications this is desirable, there are others where this is not true.
For example, if the radiator or associated heat exchanger is disposed in parallel side-by-side relationship to the engine as is common with transverse engine, front wheel drive arrangements, the plumbing for the radiator can be complicated or, alternatively, it is necessary to use a vertical flow rather than a cross flow radiator. In addition, the positioning of both the water pump and the thermostat at the same end of the engine can give rise to certain servicing problems.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved cooling system for an internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a cooling system for an internal combustion engine wherein the water pump and thermostat housing may be positioned at widely different locations relative to the associated engine.